Chapter 11

Trippin'

The dusty country road before them stretched out long and empty. Full of promise, Kai had said with glee, when they first pulled into the gas station.

Bonnie sat slumped in the front seat scowling at the trees lining both sides of the road. They'd passed three hours worth of similar scenery, and now they were at the very edge of where Kai could wander and still stay tethered to her, according to his not so pleasant experience from weeks ago, when he'd stumbled into the limits on his own.

If only he would hurry up with his damn chips and sodas and who knew how many other countless snack fetches.

"Full of promise, my ass," Bonnie muttered to herself.

Presently, he wandered back out of the gas station. She watched him draw out bag after bag of junk food and packages of pastries from his many pockets. She frowned when he pulled three soda cans from the back of his pants.

"What, they ran out of bags?" she asked.

He eyed her innocently.

She blinked in disbelief. "Did you pay for those?"

"Totally."

She stepped out of the car, fuming. Only to let more smoke out of her ears at finding the cashier inside with a blank look in his eyes. When she tried to explain that she was paying for her friend's purchases because he'd forgotten, the guy gave her a funny look.

"Which friend?" he asked slowly, as if she was a child or mental patient escapee.

She pointed outside, to the car, where nobody sat inside. No one at all.

"You've been the only customer in the last fifteen minutes," the guy said, again cautiously. His hand shifted nervously. Oh, wonderful. Maybe now he thought she was there to rob him.

Damn Kai.

Bonnie only huffed, then smacked a twenty on the counter.

"Miss?"

"Just put half in the register, the other half for tip."

Then she stalked out.

Kai really wasn't in the car, though. Or anywhere in the vicinity of the gas station. For kicks, she drove off by herself. Then spent half an hour debating returning for him.

She found him soon enough strolling by the edge of the trees, an arm out with his back turned to her as she pulled in. His thumb was up, calling for her to break it in half. She almost gave in to the urge.

"Hi," he called back easily. "Fancy meeting you here. Wanna see something?"

She sat on the hood, staring stonily out and saying nothing as he turned and smiled at her, walking forwards. He stopped right in front of her, too close, then shut his eyes as his mind opened to her. Instantly, the vista turned from day to night. The road was equally as abandoned. She was almost in the same spot, only now she was him, alone and looking around as he inched the car forward. His gut churned, and then when she stared at his hands on the wheel the further out he crept along the road, his fingers started fading away. Followed slowly by his arms. His face fell into a grimace, twisted with pain. The car stopped, then reversed. His arms returned to sight. His body leaned forward to rest his forehead against the wheel, his breathing uneven and coming out choked.

Her eyes flew open. Kai stood before her, blocking the sun. Her mouth opened to gasp out his name, as she was still caught in the wrenching effects of the spell that almost took him away.

He eased himself to sit beside her on the hood, opening a bag of chips that he offered to her.

They munched in companionable silence.

"So that's the limit, then," she said quietly. "What do you think happens to you?"

He sighed, brushing off his hands. "Another prison world? An eternity of nothing? Not exactly an experiment I care to repeat, Bonster."

She couldn't blame him. She didn't much want him to, either. And though he sounded like he'd be careful not to test it more, there was always that nagging doubt in her head that one day he'd reach the point where this modified restraint could drive him nuts enough again to come back and push the limits.

Kai's freedom was possible only by a set degree of miles within her range. Mystically drawn with Bonnie at its center, his orbit was constant and more often than not lately, drawing closer to her. A nagging problem she didn't know how to combat. What else, after all, was new? She hadn't gotten rid of vampires in her town, or that baseball from her room. It was only natural she couldn't shake Kai out of her hair.

What was unnatural had everything to do with her reaction to that. Nothing about her wanted him shaken. The idea of him gone left an unpleasant taste in her brain.

He'd grown on her.

"How much didja leave him with?" he asked, after another stretch of quiet.

"Twenty bucks. You owe me."

The long road ahead of them lay dappled in sunlight, as a breeze kicked up and swept a strand of leaves across concrete. A strand of her hair tickled her cheek, and she felt warm fingers brush her skin as he tucked the hair behind her ear. His thumb lingered for a beat just there, between her jaw and her neck. The need to press herself further into his touch swept over her.

Instead she kept her eyes on the road, while her face warmed under his gaze. He always stared too long at her.

"Hey, what's behind your ear?" he asked softly.

She turned and found a hint of a smirk on his mouth, as he pulled at the air by her ear. A long stemmed flower, she saw, rich and red with doubling petals that tilted backwards. He laid it on her lap. It looked like nothing she'd seen before, but then, she wasn't the gardening type.

"Fun fact: those types of flowers have no scent, their leaves and buds were used in treating epilepsy, and they're also known as the Star of the Devil."

She snorted, then picked it up and inhaled. He was right. No fragrance reached her nose.

"What is it?"

"Dahlia." He leaned back, crossed his arms, and rested his head on them to stare up at the sky. "Laugh if you want, but among the books on my reading list in sixteen years of me-time, there was this one dusty tome I browsed through. Victorian language of flowers. Figured one day I'd use it to score with chicks. Tell me if it's working."

"Nope."

"Shoot. Oh, well."

"What's the dahlia stand for?"

"Couple things. Dignity, elegance." She threw him a skeptical glance that turned suspicious when his grin grew playful as he lifted a wrist and shook his pulsing amber stone-studded band at her, then placed a hand on his chest, adding in a softer, higher pitched voice, "oh, and commitment and a bond that lasts forever."

She couldn't help snorting louder, that eventually turned into a tiny chuckle.

"Yeah, thought you'd get a kick."

They shared a rueful smile.

"Sooo," he drawled. "Feel like extending the road trip now? Fun as it is twiddling my thumbs in your one-post-office town, I got a few places to be."

Her eyes narrowed in thought, though he probably would read it to mean she'd say no. In all fairness, he didn't deserve to be stuck there and she was nowhere qualified to be anyone's jailer. But that's where they were, thanks to Emily.

"Give me two days," she said. "And no killing anyone."

"Fine. Take all the fun out of it."

"And no road trip."

He bit his mouth, too smug. "I know. I already booked our flights."

"Wow. You actually paid for them?"

"I've conjured myself a small fortune, Bon. Back there at the gas station? That was just for kicks. It's funny riling you up."

She kicked him in the shins. Hard.

"No killing," she repeated firmly.

"Consider me leashed," he replied, taunting, but when she turned to face him, instead of finding resentment or anger, the violence in his eyes carried elements of warmth that went well with his dilated pupils. "I've been your good little puppy anyway. Don't you think it's time I earned a reward?"

Loaded question, that. She was grateful he hadn't resorted to kidnapping her. Then pissed at the thought of having to carry gratitude for something like that. When had her standards lowered? The resentment piled higher, threatening to topple over until she realized that unlike Damon, Kai hadn't done much harm since escaping (to anyone not a vampire), beyond leeching her of magic for a few seconds. He'd never even officially threatened to kill her, not even offhand, the way she'd heard Elena gripe Damon always did with everyone.

It was possible Bonnie was projecting.

Kai sat up and scooted closer, appearing for all the world like he was mulling something serious.

"What if we run into an axe murderer on the road?" he tried.

"You let me handle it."

"Pfffbt."

"Well, I'm not writing out the fine print. No killing, that's the only way I'll come. Quit being an ass."

Then her horrible brain let her eyes drift to that specific part of his anatomy, encased pretty darn snugly in his jeans. He caught it, her look, and returned it with gusto by burning a hole through her chest, where her shirt, thankfully, hid the way her breasts spilled out and her nipples grew into pinpoint pricks, the longer he stared.

He filled up so much of her space, sitting there, harmless but not while their eyes got stuck on each other. Tight throbbing grew somewhere in her lower parts. He shared the feeling, she knew as she glanced away.

They couldn't hold up much longer.

The shadow of a baby beard on his face called to her, and her hands twitched to reach up and touch it the closer his face got.

"Should we head home?" he whispered, low.

"Yep," she replied, chirpy, shooting up and far away and willing herself not to dwell on how when he said 'home' her brain offered up the image of her bed and them writhing together on it.

She mentally cast a short sleeping spell on herself for the rest of the way home, to avoid sharing more tension for three hours. There was a chance she'd make Kai pull over so she could climb onto his lap. When sleep wore off, it was just in time to find him driving into town limits. By mutual and nonverbal agreement, they each knew to stay well away from the other.

Her excuse for keeping busy was to enlist her friends into helping hide her short absence from town.

Leaving with him at all was a terrible idea. Deep in her bones Bonnie knew this, and so did her friends.

"Now?" Caroline asked, shocked. "You're leaving now? Where? With who?"

Bonnie kept a stiff upper lip, refusing to divulge any details.

Caroline took one squinty look at her face, then gasped. With unabashed delight. "Your mystery guy. You're so going off with him!"

"No."

"Uh-huh, and probably getting off, too!"

"Oh, my God," Bonnie muttered, then covered her flaming cheeks. "Caroline, I swear..."

But she couldn't complain, now that the blonde as if by miracle was all cooperation. Just the thought of Bonnie Bennett going on an adventure was all it took, apparently. Her friend was practically squealing. Elena looked slightly worried.

"Is he a vampire?" the brunette asked, finally.

"No!"

"Because that's fine, I'm the last one to judge. We just need to know which side he's on."

Elena being the tougher sell was a total sack of horse dung.

"You don't get to be disapproving," Bonnie warned her. "Last week you were playing road warrior with Damon."

"I'm not, Bonnie," Elena said, her long curtain of hair sweeping side to side as she shook her head. "But who is this guy? I went with Damon for info, not to bond. Now we know more about Emily's grimoire and that journal." Elena using reason like that wasn't unexpected, with her friend wholeheartedly embracing the mission to keep Stefan and Jeremy and the rest of the town trouble-free. "You all knew everything about that trip. This one...you're giving us nothing. What if you get hurt? Plus, hello? Your Grams. She'll kill you."

"And then us," Caroline chimed in, though reluctantly. "Elena's got a point."

"Just trust me, guys," Bonnie reassured them, feeling uncertainty in her gut. "I won't be long. Nothing's gonna happen. I got this, okay?"

It was easier to spell Elena into standing in for her than it was for Caroline-five inches much too tall-to do the same. When Grams dropped her off the Gilbert family lake house, suspiciously checking the grounds to make sure things were legit and no hint of trouble was afoot, Bonnie ducked away upstairs to find Elena ready but nervous. Bonnie made quick work of the spell, then gaped as Elena turned into her identical twin, shedding several inches in height, growing curls in her brown hair, her skin taking on a latte tone.

Bonnie number two stared at her jittery, until downstairs someone called her name. Bonnie pushed her temporary dupe out of the door, patting her shoulders good luck, and stayed hidden and cloaked inside a closet.

She watched Elena-as-Bonnie fumble her way through the act, helped along by Caroline and Matt. And Grams never bought a clue.

A three-day outing with her childhood friends, to reconnect. Grams seemed relieved, to Bonnie's surprise. If Elena and Caroline were back in her good graces, Bonnie had no idea why but she wasn't going to question it now.

Not when she had a reforming sociopath to baby-sit.

-oOoOo-

She'd agreed. Being flabbergasted, he hid it well. Then spent two days staying out of her hair, keeping a close watch for any signs and symptoms of what he'd come to call 'the Bonnie complex' rearing its head. Guilt, fretting, dismay-anything that could be read in her face, signaling either that she'd come to the realization that Portland was where his enemies sat together like ducks waiting oblivious for him to knock their tiny little heads off, or to try the same with him once his presence was known; or that she was coming along, agreeing to let her pet sociopath out to play; or that she was coming along, and they had this thing growing between them that needed some kind of fix. And soon.

At the moment, he was equally as invested in exploring that as he was in wreaking havoc in Portland.

But he kept that and other things to himself, and waited patiently. Just like the good little puppy he'd mockingly called himself. She didn't need to know that it was partly true. Maybe this trip wouldn't be eventful in the wrong way. Maybe it'd be eventful on a more personal level. With Bonnie. Maybe it was time.

He only really needed a few coven items. Along with one thing his twin left behind back at the Parker family home.

-oOoOo-

All too soon, she was on the plane, thousands of miles from home. Kai was right beside her, completely unruffled by the nearness or the damn arctic temperature in the cabin. He called for the attendant for extra snacks and pillows, proceeding to make himself comfortable and sleep away several hours of the flight.

She followed suit, shortly.

"Bonnie..."

Long fingers skimmed against her and set off tiny sparks on her skin at the hip. She gasped when a warm hand cupped her waist, squeezing softly at the bare spot between her pajama pants and her tank, before they dipped below her waistband to brush the swell of her bottom. When they rested there, her throaty groan was all she could muster in protest. She needed that hand lower, but just where she couldn't be sure.

"Bonnie!"

"Mmm," she moaned, kicking involuntarily.

"Ow."

And woke herself up with it. Her eyes shot open, her ears burning as soon as her brain offered up the memory of that hazy dream.

Kai slid a glance at her. The back of his head rested against the closed window. To her total surprise, he wasn't smirking. Times like these, she had to be in awe of her luck. Sitting next to an attractive guy, unchaperoned, almost to the point of snuggling since they were sharing a blanket after the flight attendant failed to deliver hers. It would've been romantic and cute, if the guy in question wasn't a reforming murderer en route to the hometown where he enacted his heinous acts of violence.

What took the absolute cake, though? That she was having thoughts. Sleeping sexy ones, more and more of them at inconvenient times. Like now.

And by the telltale pink around his neck and ears and on his cheeks, Kai had gotten a mental eyeful of them, via that stupid, awful link.

"We're landing," he murmured, eyeing her with an unwavering gaze that told her his flush didn't stem from embarrassment the way hers did.

Oh, God.

She squirmed in her seat, the damp friction in her lower regions another telltale sign.

"Have to use the potty," was her first grumbling reply, making a face at herself as soon as she shot up and had her back turned. Yep. 'Potty.' Because apparently, she couldn't just say 'restroom' like a normal person.

"Oh, ma'am," came the soft, high voice. "If you can please have a seat? The captain has the light on for seatbelts."

"I'll be quick."

She ducked inside the tiny restroom before the flight attendant could protest, then slammed the door shut in her face. Screw her anyway, for failing to deliver the blanket, leading to Bonnie forcefully tugging half of Kai's towards her, which in turn wandered into questionable sharing of body heat. No wonder she'd had that dream.

But it was always easy to point fingers elsewhere. The truth was, Bonnie was there as a result of her own bad choice.

-oOoOo-

Nothing answered her.

Her frown deepened, the greater the radius the spell covered. Joshua had shared it with her, without much prompting, to her great relief. He was as invested in locating his son as she was, but she suspected it wasn't for the reasons that had caused his son's imprisonment so many years back.

Too much of his curious desperation faced her, on that day that she had sipped tea while he downed gin, in that small town in New York where she pried out of him little details-the dwindling number of families in the Gemini fold, the lack of cohesion among the few elders remaining-that painted a stark picture of one coven's slow unraveling throughout the years. And then of course, there was the matter of how the former Gemini private detective had failed to produce anything new in the search for Joshua Parker's would-be heirs.

With Rudy out of town and Bonnie off with her friends at the Gilbert lake house for a relaxing, normal weekend away from vampires, Sheila didn't waste time.

The spell brought her to the prison world she helped build, for the sociopathic former heir, who had eliminated himself from contention by massacring half his family. For her own peace of mind, she needed this spell to give her the right result.

In this mute, bleak city, Malachai Parker's essence should have glared out at her, obvious and distorting the emptiness, a large inkblot marring a blank page. There went all her ideas of peace, as she eyed the row of cars parked in the downtown Mystic Falls neighborhood. The very same, where Joshua had promised her was his son's last known whereabouts in his unique jail cell.

She dropped the spell, pulling her magic back in as more quiet taunted her. This was her third trip here, after trying Portland, then Clearwater, and all the other cities the solitary inmate here had recently visited.

Malachai was nowhere to be found.

Rarely did she get angry. Now in this ghost world, Sheila Bennett gave into a small tantrum. The cars lining the quaint street before her to a one flew up, hovered for two seconds, then crashed down in a cacophony of broken metal, rubber, and plastic, colliding with hard concrete.

"You sonovabitch," she gritted out, minutes later from her attic, rooting through her cloaked, protected cabinets that no eyes could see but her own. She drew out a small duffel, rifled through that to find manacles and a heavy iron mask. "Sent me on a wild goose chase. There's nothing living in that world, Joshua."

The prolonged quiet that followed eased none of her temper or worries.

"He's out." It wasn't a question. "I didn't free him."

"I know," she retorted. "The pair of them-well, what did you imagine would happen, you fool? They found a way. If that damn spell of yours has poisoned my granddaughter-if your son's done anything to twist her up-"

"You forget who you're speaking to, Sheila."

"A failure of a father? The impotent ruler of what's looking more and more like a defunct coven? Which one, hmm, Joshua?" Outside, wind battered the windows and walls, rattling her kitchen shelves. She blew out a silent, slow breath, closing her eyes. "This link you forced between Malachai and Bonnie? Once I find your deranged son, I'm destroying it."

"At the expense of your granddaughter's sanity?"

"Oh, I'll find a workaround. You know I always do."

"If you harm Malachai-"

"Don't play the concerned father now, Joshua. What ever made you think it was wise to slip this connection in? To invade Bonnie's mind like this? You had no right! And it was your idea to imprison your own son in the first place!"

"I had no other choice! He murd-" Here he stopped, his voice cracking. "The children...how we found them-Jesus fucking Christ, Sheila. What else could I do? I didn't arrive on my own. The other elders were with me. I had no time to clean up. Couldn't figure out how to explain this. It was either imprisonment or a death sentence for him from the elders. As much as blood as my hands carried already, I couldn't do it. Some things...even I can draw the line."

How coincidental that he would have that principle when it came to the one time he needed to be ruthless.

"If he puts up a fight," she said stonily. "The Tribunal will support me, no matter what extreme measures I need to take."

"You're not executing my son. That's outside your jurisdiction. We can neutralize him another way."

"Do your best. Just don't become an obstacle, Joshua. I'll bring your damn house down."

"Goddammit, Sheil-"

"Whatever happened," she cut in calmly. "To the man who always said, 'coven before family?' Don't tell me you finally grew a heart, you poor bastard. Now that you've lost all your children. What a joke. Get your head on straight, Joshua."

She hung up.

-oOoOo-

May was still months away, but as she followed Kai along the darkened path that led to his childhood home, Bonnie fought the smell of spring flowers drifting to her nose. She closed her eyes against it, and the borrowed memories that surged to mind-the muffled shouts and terrified crying, the frenzied steps on wooden floors made by small feet seeking help and escape from a madman, the smear of fresh red on banisters and doors and dusty furniture.

Now she followed that same madman, to stalk together the same halls that witnessed his brief reign of terror.

Stop it stop it don't think he was punished you killed him yourself for them don't think it's over...

Her nose bumped against his back. So engrossed in muting her loathing, Bonnie had failed to note that Kai had pulled up short to turn and stare down at her. The lack of expression in his face might have misled some, that and the full way he met her eyes. But his bravado didn't stem from lack of emotions. She knew better. Her conscience had infected him. If anything, from the stone set of his jaw, his sad, horrible little feelings just then more than rivaled hers. But he said nothing, just lifted a brow.

"What?" she asked defensively, infusing as much impatience into her tone as she brushed roughly by his shoulder. "You're wasting time."

"You can't come in if you're gonna be weird."

"Fine. I'll stay here. If the house is booby-trapped and you get stuck there...sayonara. Nice knowing you."

"Bonnie..." the up and down movements of his Adam's apple struck her as too pronounced.

A tiny part of her relished the obvious struggle in his face and the pleading in his voice. It gave her peace of mind knowing he wasn't putting on a show. She could taste the guilt and self-loathing in her own mind, wafting off his form. All bitter now, where before she guessed it probably had tasted, to his sociopathic palette, mostly sweet and satisfied.

He really was infected.

So was she.

She smiled. "Welcome home, Kai."

Then stalked up the steps, flung a hand out and broke the front doors open.

Even as dark as it was, the cheeriness before her spawned a moment of disorientation. Where was the crimson trail on the stained oak floor boards, the small smeared handprints along the side of that one door by the stairs? The couch was smaller, its lines modern, the upholstery the wrong color. All the framed photos were missing. Upstairs, a light had been left on.

But the magic scan brought up nothing. The house was empty. The de-cloaking spell she and Kai had placed on it minutes ago meant not even Joshua or the other elders couldn't hide from them.

"Guess who's back from vacay, dad!" Kai called.

She turned, saw the disconnect between his easy breezy tone and the hardened set to his eyes. No fooling her, not when her gut churned with his guilt and the urge to curl up into a ball wouldn't ease.

"Tell me if you need tissues," she threw over her shoulder, then flopped onto the couch, resting her boots on the arm.

He could do all the damn dirty work himself. This wasn't her freakshow family affair. She and her friends had their own hands full, and Kai was lucky she hadn't given him much of a hard time when he whisked them both to Portland, barely giving her enough notice to scrap together a plan to fool both Grams and her dad.

Glancing at him expecting to find his tortured face on the verge of crumpling, she felt her cheeks burn instead. His eyes were trained on her legs, crossed at the ankles as she lounged on the couch attempting her own form of bravado. No, she refused to let this house creep her out. Those poor sad murdered kids had gotten their pound of flesh courtesy of her possession. And also-hell no, she totally wouldn't let Kai's ogling get to her. There were tights beneath the short skirt she wore-thick, wool, dark tights that gave no hint of skin. If he liked the shape of her calves and thighs, so be it.

In payback, she just kept her neutral gaze on his until he cleared his throat and turned away. Her own eyes roamed his ass, underneath the skinny jeans he swore he despised, yet never failed to wear. In many rinses and cuff styles. For a nineties guy, he sure had adapted well to the times. Her appreciative, furtive gaze swept over the snug jacket spanning his broad shoulders for good measure. His face was smooth again, boyish but the chiseled jaw did funny things to her now, especially when he was irked about something. Usually about her.

What it boiled down to outside of magic, was her own depressing lack of action for the better part of the year.

Yet...they were friends. Friends could ogle each other. Especially friends sneaking inside a murder house, and needing any and all help to avoid letting bad memories overwhelm them.

High-pitched creaking broke the quiet as Kai disappeared upstairs. Under the faint light from the hall above, shadows in the corner played with Bonnie's head. She had to remind herself that she was a witch. Boogeymen bounding out from dark closets would be stupid to try her now. Hot, bothered, intimately and still inexplicably sharing feelings and dreams with the homicidal siphoner responsible for turning her hot and bothered.

They were inappropriate, her thoughts. Inconvenient. Who knew how much of them really belonged to her anyway, and how much was from him? Of course he'd be horny after prolonged solitude and naturally, she'd be someone he might fixate on. She was torn between dwelling on that and peering closer at the looming darkness beyond the back door, where the pool lay. Where memories of Kai's last jaunt to that part of the house called out to be explored. This time, it wasn't his dead siblings pushing that urge on her. No, it was that pesky thing that belonged to the old Bonnie, that wanted to keep Kai in a familiar box so things wouldn't get messier between them.

She chased those thoughts, letting the shallow overtake her to keep the other darker thoughts at bay. She didn't want to drown in memories of a child's voice bubbling beneath the pool, begging for mercy. Or imagine another body swinging from the rails, limp and open-eyed, veins bulging from a mottled face and swollen neck.

"Found them," came the deep voice, devoid of its usual lighter, almost musical lilt. Kai bounded downstairs, a small duffel over his shoulder. "Let's go."

She didn't need a second prompt, or bother to look behind her as she followed him out the door. Down the steps they practically flew, stopping only when Kai again abruptly pulled short beside the hollowed stump of a tree on the lifeless grass, brown leaves crunching beneath his urgent steps. He reached inside and pulled out a dagger-covered in dirt but still sharp, still silver. Magic coated it.

She shrank away, then tilted her face stubbornly when he threw her an exasperated look.

"Really? I'm gonna stab you here? Now? You're like the only member of my fan club, Bonnie."

She scoffed. "You wish."

"You're a fan of looking at my butt."

"I've seen better," she blurted without even the intent to be defensive. She was just telling the truth. Caroline had force fed too many pictures from the internet showcasing wondrous booties, spanning Hollywood and sports teams and even the royals. Bonnie was spoiled for asses for life, because of her friend's obsession with celebrity ones. But as real actual people went that Bonnie knew? Kai's was easily up there. "Tone and shape and bounce."

"Oh, yeah? And where have you seen those? Late-night Showtime on one of your sleepovers at your galpals' house? Drunken frat party? Skinny dipping with Matt, maybe?"

Their steps slowed the further they got from the large cottage with the wraparound porch. The way it clung to the main structure that reminded Bonnie of a large forearm-Kai's, she dimly realized, encasing a small neck. When he choked his little brother before dunking him into the pool.

"My ex, for one."

"Give it up," he replied, looking to the side as if he was fighting the need to peek over his shoulder at the place that had haunted his thoughts every day for the last several months. "You're not even old enough to have an ex."

But she was old enough for him to get off on, was almost what she said. Almost, if only because she needed him to look at her, and not the house. She didn't know why she cared now that they were outside of it. It hadn't been anything to her, watching him struggle when they'd stood at the scene of his crime, feeling slightly suffocated by its walls.

Wrong time, though, to broach her newest gripe. She'd had more than enough of those fleeting glimpses into his late night dreams, and also those that hit her in the middle of the damn day. Out of nowhere. An illicit slide show of them rubbing against each other, naked or otherwise. In the most random places. Recently, she'd started suspecting that she was the woman with the black stocking and red heels wrapped around Kai, in that nightmare he'd had so long ago now, it seemed, of the mass funeral that had displaced her from the real world and into his. Amidst all that madness, it always struck her as strange that Pamela Anderson had replaced the original woman. Now she realized he'd only been distracting Bonnie from recognizing herself.

God, it was screwed up, how badly they needed to screw each other. He'd been at it longer than her, though. He was better at handling urges.

Her, not so much. She didn't much take to feeling like a horny guy all the time, around Kai. The one person she was sure could obliterate this problem was probably also the same person that might send Kai back to the prison world, just for looking at Bonnie funny. If Grams ever found out this little side effect? Kai would die. Slow and painful.

In the grand scheme of things, Bonnie had always had the idea to lose her virginity to some harmless guy that she could trust not to fumble or hurt her too bad. Life was funny sometimes.

"You'd be surprised," she mumbled, not even sure what would come out next out of her mouth, as she dove inside the car.

"At?"

He followed her lead, tucking himself inside the driver's side.

"What I'm old enough for."

Now he studied her, slit-eyed, that customary smirk in hiding as the nearby streetlamp filtering through the windshield turned him pale. Like the ghosts they were both afraid would come find them, even here on the sidewalk. It was that more than anything that gave her the boost to explore this sexual attraction to the killer before her. To combat the anxiety, Bonnie gave into a bad idea, and filled her mind with images of straddling him, exactly as he looked now. Nose flaring, eyes burning, jaw tight.

She easily fit into that space between the steering wheel and his chest, and her skirt rode up far enough for him to cup her ass and keep them warm in his much larger hands, that strayed up along her hips, and her waist, and slipped under her the hem of her shirt to find the bottom curve of her breasts, spilling out of a bra that hiked up the more she grinded against him.

She'd never tried that with Scott or any other boy. Bonnie wasn't really sure what appropriate level of grind might turn Kai hard. Scott had been easy. He could look at a remote control and his erection would just pop out like a Jack-in-the-Box. He'd wanted so badly to be her first. She'd never given in, and he'd called her a tease. Marking their last official date. The next time she saw him, after third period by her locker, she'd dumped him. He'd insisted on a misunderstanding, that it was a joke.

Back then, maybe she hadn't quite developed the sense of humor she had now.

Courtesy, probably, of the sociopath who was at that moment watching her watch him, and getting an even better look at the dirty thoughts in her head. This, after visiting the home where he'd killed his siblings.

A lot of levels of twisted, this friendship of theirs.

His thumbs brushed the front of her shirt, right over her stiff nipples poking through her bra. He leaned in, his warm breath turning them harder while her panties rubbed achingly wet against the part of her tights between her thighs, growing impossibly damp...

He cupped the back of her head, to bring her lips closer to his...

He gave a dark laugh, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the wheel and peeled out of the spot.

"Naughty girl," he muttered, swallowing hard again. "Good looking out, though, Bon. Thanks."

And after that, he took them to a bar.

Not a bar with posh tables and chairs and normal, attractive people trying to fall drunkenly into bed with each other. No, he took them to the tiny bar at the restaurant within walking distance of their motel, where they each stayed in separate but adjoined rooms.

She shrugged it off, because he had the right idea regardless. After that trip to his house, she was spooked by having visited the actual Parker stronghold and taking in that air of tragedy that lingered despite nothing appearing to look the same. That she'd been capable of sprawling on the couch acting like it didn't matter-no, worse, that familiar feelings of repulsion had failed to hit and instead she'd indulged in smutty fantasies to distract them both...

She was overheated and worried and in need of beer.

Kai ordered them both sodas. Annoyed, she speared him with a glare but he was busy tapping at the touchscreen a little ineptly and then flagging down the bartender. Kai was finished ordering before her and proceeded to immerse himself in the touchscreen again. Soon his entranced face was lost in a card game, as he slurped from his drink.

"Nifty," he murmured at one point, eyes still locked on the screen like he was a toddler in a television daze. "I mean, seriously. Why do people even need people anymore?"

Then he laughed to himself. She rolled her eyes, slumping her chin onto her hand as she studied him unabashedly. Right now it was tough imagining herself straddling his lap, while his eyes reflected childlike wonder. It'd been the right move, though. That could've gone downhill, their trip to his home. And now, here, she was hard pressed to remember what made her think it was a good idea, coming onto him in the car using her stupid fantasy. They'd been out of danger at that point. And she was terrible at that, hadn't properly paid attention to the way her friends played the game all these years. How Caroline swaggered or Elena channeled coy. No, Bonnie was good at facing down her fears and rushing headlong into things without thought. Blurty and blunt and still, despite everything, bubbly.

Was it possible she wasn't his type?

Her hand covered her eyes, as she gave herself a little shake of the head to clear it and her irksome thoughts. She didn't have time for this. Boycrazy Bonnie rearing her head now was possibly the worst thing ever. Precisely why, she noted, skipping her eyes around the dim restaurant, letting them linger on the cute guys further down the bar and smiling at her in between swigs of their beer, she knew a lot of this restless sexual hunger came from an external source-Kai.

And who knew he of all people was capable of stepping on the breaks? The other week, when she'd taken his bait over that apple, and nearly licked his fingers as she teased them both to insanity...she could've sworn he wanted to kiss her. Or maybe that was her reading into it too eagerly. Her influence on him meant at some point that they'd level each other out, but what if that never happened? She'd turn into a slobby frat boy while she witnessed his metamorphosis into a dull little sociopath.

Or maybe-and more logically, and less harsh on her ego-he was just using his brains, knowing bad choices when it came to her could possibly get him killed.

So he'd taken the high road. Maybe the moment deserved a little more pride in him. Concentrate on that, she told herself. It had to help with ignoring the spikes of disappointment that particular pride was laced with, cutting parts of her just a bit. It hurt, even though she logically understood. He wasn't rejecting her, only being smart.

She had to see the bright side here. After that trip into his house, a successful one that didn't see an argument erupt between them, or worse, a showdown with his dad or other members of the coven-Bonnie rallied against the glum setting inside her. She smiled at him, clinking her soda glass to his when he raised a questioning brow.

"What're we celebrating?" he asked.

"A boring night. Nobody getting killed." She tossed her soda back, pretending the fizz was stronger. Why had he ordered for her? She wasn't a child. "I can't remember the last time nothing happened on a Saturday night. So thanks."

"Is that a dare, Bon?"

She snorted. "Just enjoy it, Kai. Peace and quiet. Ta-da!"

They both spared simultaneous paranoid glances around.

"Texas Hold'em?" he offered a second later, tilting the screen so she could get a piece of the action.

Heads tilted close, sharing their plates of appetizers, she proved that on this touchscreen, she was at least old enough to kick his ass in poker. An hour later, they were still at the bar, the touchscreen forgotten as she listened to him talk about the dagger he'd pulled out of the tree stump.

Neither of them had drank more than soda, and she hadn't asked, but she wasn't about to get in the way if he felt like sharing more personal details. Especially when it came to that night, sixteen years ago.

"Can't hold it against Jo. I did gut her and carve out her spleen. You know, after a long period of self-reflection and also this unnecessary bout of conscience that your do-gooder self has saddled me with, I've come to the realization that I could've handled things better."

"Oh," was her only dry comment.

"I know you still think I'm a monster."

"You don't really care what I think."

He smiled fondly. "See, this is why I'm glad the universe picked you to be my witch in shining armor and pull me out of the black hole of remorseless living in 1994."

"My snappy comebacks?"

"Not being glib, okay? It's..." he paused, waving a hand to her, then let out what sounded possibly like a laugh of surrender. "The thing I was most scared of, was trying to figure out how to live in the world again. Clearly, you and this link have been a positive influence on me. You're a good person, Bonnie. Brave, loyal, patient. And now...I'm more like you."

Quick as a whip, his hand found a grip on her wrist, wrapping firmly there as he tugged her close enough so she saw the way his grin turned biting, the light in his eyes just shy of maniacal. "And now you're more like me."

"I guess some things will never change," she said through gritted teeth.

She didn't snatch her hand back, or push away, and his hold on her went lax, his fingers easing into a hold that felt far less intimidating, but more dangerous. He rubbed against the inner skin along her palm, in small circles that siphoned tiny currents of her magic. But she didn't let go at the small bites along her nerve endings, and then gasped in surprise when he channeled it right back into her, filling her hand and the rest of her arm with warm fire that swept up and into her belly with a pleasant tingle. Her magic filtered through his and coursing over her every pore sent her body into a tizzy. Sparks erupted from the tips of her fingers.

"Shh," he said, covering her hands with his.

She stifled a moan. "Kai-"

"I know."

This-had to be wrong. Illicit, but in a different way from the fantasies that mutually played out in their heads. Sharing magic with him, in public, with the bartender at the corner giving them funny glances, and the rest of the customers peeking over with curiosity. She was almost in his lap, and their hands were under the counter. Everyone else entertained an idea of them being inappropriate the normal way.

But this was so much more, and worse, and better.

"They tricked me good," he said softly, keeping their gazes locked, as her breath hitched and their magic entwined inside her body. "Instead of using the power of the eclipse to merge, my dad used it to send me to the prison world. And where'd Jo's magic go? It made zero sense. Magic doesn't just, like, disappear. But Emily and her way with pouring magic in and out of jewelry got me thinking. I know about talismans. But Jo didn't wear any, and she had her magic those few minutes before we started the merge ceremony. And then it hit me. My sneaky little twin sister hid her magic in this."

Still almost draped against him, the back of his hand brushed her breasts as he patted his coat pocket, partially drawing out the knife now covered in a sheath. The smug lines of his face smoothed, and she felt him withdraw, both his magic and his touch.

"It's still there," she said quietly, sensing the muted pulse of magic from the knife.

"Still here."

"You don't even need the magic from that."

"No," he agreed. "Not now. But someday, I will. You see, Bonnie, coven always comes first with my father. It's like his kids don't even matter. He treated me like crap for twenty-two years and then locked me up. What do you think will be the first order of business when he learns that I'm out?"

She wanted to touch his face, or maybe scratch his eyes out. The way he stared down at her now, with a hint of suspicion, ruffled all kinds of feathers. She was already unsteady after the stunt he just pulled. Fielding his paranoia now...she wasn't in the mood.

He suspected that she would try to fool him the way his twin had. Even after everything. Or maybe he had a different fear.

"You're worried I don't care either way," she mused. "If your father locks you up again or leaves you alone."

"Why would you? If you're gaining my charming attributes..."

Trailing off, he looked away, as if by force.

"So what you're not saying is," she said slowly. "You do care what I think. You wanna know if I have your back."

His jaw tightened. She finally gave in then, and swept a lazy finger up to the hardened lines there, reveling in the prickle of his scruff as she tilted his face back her way. She really wanted to kiss the guy, but instead only managed an even smile, angling her head back with a bite of her lip in the way she'd seen him do so often.

"I guess we'll find out," she said, then turned and left him behind. Hoping and dreading, in equal measures, that she'd hear the scraping of his chair and his footsteps not long in following.

-oOoOo-

He dawdled at the bar.

Because if he followed and walked with Bonnie back to the motel, he'd end up fucking her. In the myriad ways he'd imagined, that had gnawed the corners of his brain over and over every goddamn day and night for the last month and a half of living in the same house as her. Sharing walls and halls and a magical psychic link that held greater promise of turning him madder than the hatter. Though maybe not as mad as he himself had been, close to sixteen years ago.

Never mind that it felt like a near thing.

The times that Rudy was home were especially trying. Those always drove Kai to seek refuge in local trips away from the Hopkins household. Where before he would've paid it no mind, now the little bit of Bonnie in him shied away from entertaining plans of fornicating with a sixteen year old vixen underneath her own stupid, clueless dad's roof, while said dad went around putting work first and kid last. The way Rudy made drive-by appearances in Bonnie's life was almost entertaining. A week away for work here, and then his face would pop in for a day or two to shove the pressure of overachievement on his daughter's shoulders as if a useless set of diplomas was all Bonnie fucking Bennett, witch prodigy, was good for. Then away daddy Hopkins would go, leaving behind a vaguely stern farewell and a reminder for Bonnie to check in with her grandmother while he once more left fatherhood at the doormat, stomping it off like so much dirt from his shoes.

It should've made Bonnie easy to read, and manipulate. Maybe before, yes. Now, not so much. Kai had a love/hate relationship with how unpredictable she was. And that was before the damn link had bloomed to full effect.

But her impact on his sleep was a constant thing.

Not entirely irksome-actually, kind of welcome. But he stalled on how to act, unsure with the novelty of feeling noble for once in his life, if giving in to what they both wanted was what Bonnie deserved.

He didn't much deserve anything, his newly minted conscience was saying, but the old Malachai sure as hell would take it, would already have plowed between her legs, a dozen times by now until she forgot her name and screamed his.

So on those little trips away, every once in a while-not always, because he had self-control (oozed it as a general rule, after his imprisonment)-he continued to sleep with random women. Not enough to mark notches, definitely nowhere near enough to make up for his marathon run of abstinence. But it sated him. And in this day and age and small town of not-quite Southern hicks, willing, witty females aspiring for novelty appeared out of thin air almost like he'd conjured them up himself.

It's what he needed to do now, bringing his head around but stalling as he followed that thought. He and Bonnie had adjoining rooms. Usually sex with women got loud. Not on his part. The women now were just more vocal, a few of them into dirty talk. Equally strange to him, because as a matter of principle sex was nothing more than a biological need to bump uglies and lay his seed against someone's cervix (or near it, those times he decided magical protection could use a hand and a condom felt wise). He wasn't much of a fan of getting snuggly, or chatty in bed. Most times, he just left. Every once in a while, he got kicked out. A few women apparently didn't think much of his bedside manner, after copulation.

But what did it matter, those rare blips, when the other women seemed to enjoy it even more than him?

So he cast his eyes around warily, still wondering if it'd be okay if Bonnie actually heard him banging out some other chick's brains. She kept saying they were friends anyway. Being the involuntary recipient of a heart as if he'd been some kind of diseased tin man, it was an issue now.

The rare problem with this thing called friendship was that in this case...it did matter. He actually gave a fuck. Possibly two. Parts of him found it repellent, the idea of Bonnie hearing him bang someone's brains out. What he wanted more than anything right now and for possibly the last couple months-about as much as meting out proper vengeance to all the elders and his father-was to do that to her.

No other card-carrying member of the white hat witch variety would've gone back to his house with him, fully knowing what had gone down there. Hell, she'd kicked her shoes up on the couch to mock his new feelings of guilt, while he stood in the living room seized with the urge to pry his skull apart and rip out memories from his brain, of gutting and hanging and drowning half his family.

Then her short little skirt had distracted him, lurid and awful but awesome, too, with its hem riding up. Okay, she wore tights. But right there under his nose were her legs, and they might as well have been bare. He'd been exposed to her long enough in those fucking pajama shorts that she threw her old robe over. It never hid those creamy bronzed thighs that gleamed more brightly and better than anything on those commercials he'd seen of Nair. Her legs-her skin-the scent of her fresh after a shower, all of that was permanently seared into his mind, along with the times he'd found her sweaty, bloodied, worn out and cranky. Like that day she'd been missing a limb from an invisibility spell and her cheerleader uniform greeted him with spots of dried blood. Because she had to save her friend's sister who was already dead.

Things like that left him scratching his head but slightly awed. And today, too. With her faking nonchalance, as if none of their little jaunt bothered her, when he knew otherwise.

Every inch of her probably wanted to fry his ass again for the murders, those few minutes they were inside the horror house.

Instead, she'd sat in the car later and opened her own mind up. Rocking his world anew all over again with that image of her on his lap and ready to bounce away.

Goddammit. He needed to eat her out in thanks, at the very least. Who the hell was this girl? Clearly, he'd underestimated her.

"It can't be."

The voice was right behind him. Kai didn't recognize it, almost paid it no heed, as he kept thinking of Bonnie's room, and how many steps it would take to get there. He had long strides. By his estimation, five hundred feet was the distance between his barstool and the motel, which meant about a hundred twenty five paces. Less if he took a huge running leap at the tail end of it, to land flat at her door.

Except that'd come across a bit desperate.

"Malachai Parker...you're dead."

He stiffened, then went loose on instinct. Smooth as butter, he turned in his seat and tossed a killer, megawatt smile at the slack-jawed woman behind him. Blonde, cute, medium height, her magic not familiar and yet not strange. Somewhere, he'd encountered something pretty damn similar before. But where?

The door jangled open, and a man stepped inside the restaurant. He was also blonde, tall, probably considered himself buff. He was in his thirties, and wielding significant firepower of the mystical variety. Kai let the magic settle against his.

Oh, riiight.

Kai remembered him better as a leaner kid with glasses and shaggy hair. Pimply. They were a trio. They had an older sister, Grace. Kai had slept with her a few times, the summer before senior year in high school. Grace had problems with her magic, and Kai had talked her into letting him borrow them. Her little crush on him meant he at least had a well of power to draw from for a few months. But because the whim to play fair had hit him, he'd also showed her how to wield her magic better. They'd had a little fun for a while there, until her parents found out. Grace hadn't been allowed to see or speak to him again. And her parents? Two of the elders who had been present on May 9, 1994.

"How's Gracie?" Kai asked cheerfully, of the man glowering back at him from the other end of the room.

A hundred dishes, plates, utensils, and sharper everyday household items rose in the air. Other customers scattered like the wind, their screams and shouts trailing them as they fled.

"Tell her the walking dead says hi."

The makeshift weapons launched like missiles. Overhead, the pendant light at the bar tore off the ceiling and Kai could only spare a moment to regret his promise to Bonnie. Now would be a fucking wonderful time to demolish this restaurant, and wreck a person or two. A guy could really use an outlet once in a while, was his honest guiding motto in life.

Mentally, he cast the spell that ported him out of the restaurant and into Bonnie's motel room. It was just in the nick of time, although a steak knife had managed to leave a mark. He swept a hand up to catch the trail of blood from his cheek, eyeing it detachedly at it stained his fingertip.

Bonnie was mid-stride and on her way out of the bathroom. Naturally and in pure karmic form- her top was off. A racerback push-up bra in plain worn pink cotton stared up at him, her cleavage winking back. Rudely.

His thoughts wanted to scatter just like the other diners mere seconds ago, but he was too cool for that, so he managed a gulp that sounded painful to his own ears.

"What the hell, Kai?!" she all but shrieked.

"First, pink's a great color on you. Second, um, we gotta go."

Outside and somewhere not at all too far away-something exploded. The walls shook from its effects, one picture frame clattering to the ground. The television and lights blinked out, and his hair stood on end as something pulsed out and nearly drove him to the ground.

Through the windows, blackness peeked out.

"What was that?" Bonnie demanded.

"Maybe the restaurant, or magnetic pulse...or my coven. Come to collect."

Her face took on a look of exasperation. Really? her features spelled out.

"I didn't start it," he protested mildly, then flung a hand out so his belongings and hers all flew out of closets and doors and into a single luggage bag.

-oOoOo-

Across the street, a man stood eyeing the buildings around him. In his truck, in the backseat, two forms lay slumped together.

The spell he'd used to disarm them would knock them out for at least the rest of the day. He'd watched their approach in the restaurant, and couldn't remember either of them making calls out to anyone.

Nearby, the restaurant he'd just left stood trying not to collapse on itself. He held up a hand, and the building righted slowly, cracked brick by cracked brick, the surrounding bent electrical poles straightening.

Looking towards the motel down the road, the man spared a frustrated growl at the sky, and wondered when his sanity would make its return. He dearly missed it.

That was his only excuse for letting his murderous, blacksheep son escape now.

Joshua Parker turned to his truck, stepped inside, and drove off, running through a list of viable reasons for the inevitable meeting that would follow, when the two unconscious members of his coven awoke with no memory of their night.


A/N: Hiiii. Bound's back. Thanks for hanging in there, guys. ;)